Swansea players to land share of £8m bonus if they finish in top six... and Liverpool are ready to copy pay strategy

Swansea's players are set to pocket a share of £8million if they finish in the top six this season.

The Welsh club have been in sensational form so far, and chairman Huw Jenkins' innovative incentive-based pay strategy may go some way to explaining why.

Dane Michael Laudrup has built on the success of predecessor Brendan Rodgers and is on the brink of guiding the Swans to a Wembley final this week.

No wonder: Jonathan de Guzman celebrates after scoring against Stoke

And Laudrup's players are currently playing for a bonus pot that could hit £8million if they manage to secure a top six finish. Rodgers left the Liberty Stadium for Liverpool in the summer and it appears the Reds are ready to start paying their players lower basic salaries with a greater emphasis on performance-based incentives.

Although Swansea's star striker, Michu, is reported to earn a basic salary of £25,000 per week, Swansea players are rewarded for their on-pitch successs, according to the Mirror.

For each Premier League victory, each member of the starting XI are paid a £5,000 bonus, with the substitutes picking up £2,500 each, according to the Mirror.

Swansea have been imperious in the Capital One Cup so far, and look set to reach the final having beaten Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the semi-final first leg.

Guidance: Michael Laudrup has built on Brendan Rodgers' success at the Liberty Stadium

Players who have taken part in every game of that run will have already earned an additional £7,000 on top of their wage.

Some clubs do not pay results-based bonuses to their players, and others pay extra cash for each point earned.

But the Cup run provides a paltry sum in comparison to the bonus the players will receive depending on their final position in the Premier League.

The 25-man squad receive their share of a £2.5million windfall for finishing 17th and an additional £250,000 for every place above that.

And the over-achieving Swans look set to earn far more than that. After yesterday's 3-1 victory over Stoke at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea moved four points clear of the Potters in ninth place, which would give them an additional £4m to share on top of the £2.5m windfall.

Similar system: Liverpool are set to implement a similar wage structure at Anfield

Their 11th-place finish last season
earned the players a share of a £5.5m bonus which would skyrocket to £8m if
they climbed the table even further by the end of this campaign.

Liverpool managing director Ian Ayre seemed ready to follow Swansea's lead when he spoke to the Liverpool Echo last week.

He said: 'From the football club’s
perspective, our view has to be that people are rewarded for
contributing towards what we achieve. As long as contracts are
structured in that way then everyone wins.

‘If a player performs then he will be rewarded. That’s the philosophy of the contracts we are offering and signing.

‘The attitude I’m trying to put
forward when we’re negotiating with agents is that we want to do a
contract which is fair for both sides.

‘Fair often means the right amount of
reward for a player who delivers. Everyone we bring through the door we
expect to perform and do the best they can. As long as any player does
that they should be rewarded for it.'